I studied harder. I made friends and joined parties. Because I knew that was what Yves would have wanted me to do.
But I still feel empty.
Yves knew that one of my dreams included being crowned as Miss Saint Gabriel. He supported that when he was still alive. I joined the contest and won last year. And I dedicated the sash and the crown to him. But the happiness and excitement I was hoping to feel were gone.
“Yves… I’ve missed you so, love,” I whispered.
The whimpers and moans pulled me back to reality. Now fully alert, I opened my eyes. I gasped when I caught a guy and a girl making out a few steps away from me. I couldn’t see their faces properly but just like me, they were also lying on the grass minus the towel.
I rose when I realized that the moans were coming from the girl. The guy was on top of her. He spread her legs and pulled down her panties. His hands wandered to the…
My God.
I shook my head. I’d always known that there were really students who make out outside the campus but it was my first time witnessing it. But after the initial shock, I felt a little sad to know that there were now other people who found out about my hidden sanctuary.
I quickly folded the towel and put them back in my bag.
“Oh, gosh!” I heard the girl uttering.
Before I knew it, I was already glancing at them. I was horrified when I caught them staring back at me. The girl immediately pushed the guy away. She stood up and fixed her uniform.
We don’t really have a school uniform that’s why everybody’s free to wear whatever they fancy. That was the reason why most of the students, especially the girls, always appear like they just stepped out of fashion magazines while some tend to show off their skin, barely leaving anything for the guys’ imagination.
“I’m sorry, Alexis. Let’s just do this some other time.”
And then the girl ran away.
It was after she left when I recognized who she was. She was Margie. Her father was among my dad’s business partners. The guy also stood up and nonchalantly fixed his jacket while his eyes were never leaving mine.
My heart started beating like a drum when the stranger closed the gap between us.
What was I doing? I should be running away now just like Margie. But here I was, stuck in this place. It was like my body had been paralyzed upon seeing his face.
The stranger was probably the most beautiful guy I’d ever laid eyes on.
The man had the most striking jade eyes I’d ever seen. He was looking at me as if he could see through me. He had wavy jet-black shoulder-length hair which just made him more appealing. His skin was pale. He had an upturned nose and a pair of naturally red lips.
And if I guessed it right, he was about six feet tall. He was also well-built. I saw a glimpse of his broad chest when he was still fixing his jacket.
The guy stopped walking when he was only a few inches away from me. He had bruised lips but it didn’t make his magnetic appeal fade even a bit. His lips curled into a smile as he grazed his fingers against my cheek.
I swallowed hard.
“If you don’t want to be that girl’s replacement, I suggest you run away,” he said in a raspy voice. “Run now… because if I ever catch you, I swear I will never let you go. I will lay you down and won’t stop until I have my fill.”
I took a sharp breath when I realized the implication of his words. I could feel my cheeks burning. The guy didn’t look like he was joking. And his voice was laced with warning.
His eyes lingered in my face. “So, you’re not really going to run, huh?”
He shrugged before his hand went to his zipper and was about to pull it down when I screamed.
“Pervert!”
I gathered my things before running away as fast as I could. My heartbeat only started slowing down the moment I was once on campus.
After Yves died, it was my first time to be this affected over a guy’s presence and unfortunately, it was to someone who obviously didn’t know manners. Today was my first time seeing him. That's why I was sure that he was a new student in Saint Gabriel Academy.
After some time, my eyes widened when I remembered how Margie called him.
Alexis.
That was the name of the guy whom almost half of the female student population had been crushing on. Could he be Alexis Serrano? Because if he was, then the rumors were true.
He looked like a god indeed, but he was a pervert.
He just transferred but he had already found a girl to fool around with. Guys like him were people whom girls like me should avoid.

(Alexis)
I’M NOT wearing panties today. –Margie
My brows furrowed after reading the text message. There were no other contacts in my phone aside from Renata’s number so she could give me a call each time there was a house emergency.
I specifically told her not to give my number to my parents. I was sick and tired of constantly changing my number. They always call me only to preach to me about life as if they knew better than me.
What a load of crap.
Mom still had some time to do that before heading to her most favorite place in the world: casino.
When I was younger, traveling around the world was her hobby. She had always lived her life like a single woman, that's why she used to wander alone. However, that changed when I graduated high school. She suddenly decided to stay in the country.